From the Pulpit: Baptism is the beginning of your journey with Christ, not the culmination

Wednesday

Jun 18, 2014 at 3:00 PM

By Donnley DutcherFor The Journal-Standard

When I was on my last one-week vacation, my wife and I went through “Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies” in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. It was worth the investment. I would recommend going, if you’re in the area.

Upon our entrance, they stamped our hand, in case we wanted to leave and come back, as you may have done if you attended the Stephenson County Fair, which will take place July 8 to 13. In a few days, the ink from the stamp wore off.

These “permanent” stamps and markers remind me of the “permanents” women get done on their hair. They aren’t permanent.

It’s like the immunizations we received as children. Many of us believed they would last a lifetime; yet, some, like the Tetanus vaccine, have a lifespan of only a few years. There have also been recent studies which indicate the vaccine for pertussis (whooping cough) may lose some of its effectiveness over time.

Now, for those of us who are Christian in our faith, let’s think of this in relation to our faith.

Almost all churches believe that when you are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ in their church that you are permanently marked by the sign of the cross, even if you can’t see it.

Well, God sees it, at least. A biblical verse relating to this is Revelation 7:3, which refers to those who are “marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.”

Many people think the “mark” of their baptism is like a permanent stamp on their forehead, as though it were a permanent stamp on your hand or an immunization. But let’s put a different twist on this.

When you receive an immunization you receive a microscopically small dose of an actual disease. This immunization stimulates your immune system to prevent you from having a full-blown case of the disease. For many people, baptism is very much like an immunization.

It’s similar to what Richard V. Peace of Fuller Theological Seminary wrote about people who become “converts” at mass evangelism services: “Only about 10 percent of those who respond at an evangelistic meeting become active disciples of Jesus. ... What about the other 90 percent? ... In their minds, they ‘tried Jesus’ and it didn’t work (for whatever reason), so they are less likely to make such a response in the future. It is almost as if they have been immunized against Christianity by being given such a small dose of the gospel.”

It seems to work this way for so many people in relation to their baptism, as well. They or their children are baptized, with a few words of faith spoken to them, a prayer offered on their behalf, and some water put on their forehead with the “mark” of the cross.

Maybe they’re immersed in the water; but, it seems as though the amount of water used doesn’t really seem to make a difference. Why? Because it seems that for many people their baptism becomes the goal, the culmination, or the accomplishment of faith for them, rather than the beginning of the faith journey — merely, the first step. It’s as though they have been “baptized/immunized” against catching a full-blown case of faith.

Yet, being baptized into the Christian faith did not give you a full experience of what a fully-lived life of faith in Christ can be, any more than your immunization with the tetanus or whooping cough vaccine gave you a full experience of those diseases.

In fact, if your experience of and growth in the power, meaning, and life of faith in Christ — or if your child’s or grandchild’s growth and experience, basically stopped with the baptism, then why bother with the baptism? You’ve made it the end of the journey of faith rather than its beginning.

You’re cheating yourself, and/or your child or grandchild, out of the true power, blessing, and gift of the journey and life of faith.

This is especially true if you’re a C, E, S-O Christian — Christmas, Easter, Special Occasion.

Have you ever stopped to ponder if the sacred vows you made at the baptism wore off as quickly as a stamp on your hand, as with mine from that aquarium?